History
The Mark Twain Memorial Commission in 1929 opened the home of Mark Twain, and in May 1930, the Hartford Public Library opened a branch library on the first floor of the famous house. Subsequent restoration of the house made it necessary to move the Branch to its present location at 256 Farmington Avenue.
Branch Facts
Size: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,000 sq. ft.
Holdings: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,402 items
Public Access Computers: . . . . . . Seventeen
Attendance: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,446 visits per month
Circulation: . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,535 items borrowed per month
Program Attendance: . . . . . . . . . 298 attend programs per month
Reference, Information & Reader Services: . . . . . . . . . 1,059 questions answered per month
Population Served
Population: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,631
Census Tracts: . . . . . . . . . . . . 5031, 5032, 5033, 5034, 5036, 5042, 5044
School Age Youth: . . . . . . . . . . 3,261
% of Free and Reduced School Lunches: . . 50 %
% of Adults with High School Education: . . 99 %
% of Owner Occupied Housing: . . . . . . . 13.3 %
% of Households with Access to Vehicles: . . 60.6 %
% of Single Headed Households with
Children Under 18 Years: . . . . . . . 44 %
Community Information
Businesses: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500+
Churches: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Educational Institutions: . . . . . . . 17
Public Housing Units: . . . . . . . . . 237
Parks: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Social Service Agencies: . . . . . . . 11
Community Relationships/Services
The Mark Twain Branch staff and Team members have achieved a strong community relationship with the Asylum Hill and West End neighborhoods by listening, learning and linking to the needs of the people. Active attendance at meetings such as the Asylum Hill Problem Solving and Neighborhood Revitalization Association (AHPSNRA) and the West End Civic Association (WECA), as well as Public Safety, Economic Development, and Education/Cultural subcommittees, allows us the opportunity to make a difference. Articles, bibliographies, joint programming, such as with the Asylum Hill Family Center, and becoming the repository for the archival materials of the Asylum Hill PSNRA, are some examples of services provided to community organizations. In addition, the Asylum Hill PSNRA has the improvement of the branch as one of its main objectives.
The Mark Twain Branch also has an excellent relationship with the academic community. The school age population attends West Middle School, and Noah Webster elementary schools, Hartford Public High School, and Quirk Middle School. Other educational institutions include daycare centers, nursery schools, museums, and cultural organizations, such as the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Hartford Conservatory, Dance Connecticut, Hartford Symphony, Connecticut Opera, and the Mark Twain House. These organizations, along with the Mark Twain Branch, have as one of their common goals to provide educational, cultural, and recreational programming, classes, and collections to enhance the youth of Asylum Hill and the West End. First Day Celebration at West Middle School was just one of the opportunities that the branch had to get library cards to each child.
Corporate neighbors, such as The Hartford, Aetna, Mass Mutual, ING, and Saint Francis Hospital, are also very interested in improving the lives of the school age population. The Mark Twain Branch became the recipient, through a grant from The Hartford, of six computers intended for use by the Boys and Girls Club children who regularly attend programs and get homework help at the branch.
The Mark Twain Branch also serves small businesses, senior centers, shelters, community-based-organizations, and the general population of individuals who live and work in Asylum Hill and the West End by providing programs, computer classes, and appropriate collections and services.
Noted Trends
The Mark Twain Branch serves two very diverse neighborhoods. According to the 2000 Census figures, Asylum Hill is approximately 54% African American, 30% Hispanic, and 13% white. The West End is approximately 30% African American, 26% Hispanic, and 42% white. Asylum Hill is more densely populated and is more transient. West Middle School in Asylum Hill notes mobility, socio-economic status, and the language needs of its students as major factors influencing curricula changes. Serbs, Bosnians, and Albanians are frequenting the branch in greater numbers. An increase in the number of Spanish-speaking adults visiting the library has also been noticed. The school age population has increased. One or more vehicles available to householders per occupied housing unit has dropped slightly. Crime is up in the area near the branch.
Branch Initiatives
Collection development and maintenance will continue to be a major focal point for the branch. Weeding and continual fine-tuning will be done in order to insure a responsive and vibrant collection. English-language learning audiovisual and Spanish-language adult materials will be built up in response to trends in community needs. The branch will also strive to not only provide access to the collection, but also to guide in its use through reference and readers’ advisory.
Information literacy is an important skill that the Mark Twain Branch will provide training and instruction in. People need to be able to find quality information, learn how to evaluate it, and use it effectively to make smart decisions. Helping to develop savvy information users will lead to a better-informed community who will in turn make better decisions affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood. All formats, including the Internet, will be covered in the workshops. Emphasis will be placed on clearing up the many misconceptions people have about the Internet. Two additional components will be introduced in conjunction with information literacy: safety on the Internet and copyright in electronic formats.
Supplementing the schools’ curricula by providing homework help through guidance to our resources, electronic and in print, and to Tutor.com, and by offering computer classes geared to school requirements, such as report writing through teaching Microsoft Word, presentations through teaching PowerPoint, and content research for homework and report assignments through teaching how to search databases, such as those in the Connecticut Digital Library (iCONN), is an extremely important initiative for the branch.
Computer competency for adults will be achieved through offering a wide range of computer classes. These will help bridge the digital divide and help improve life and work skills. Some examples are Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, resume writing, Word, PowerPoint, Internet, and Email classes. These classes will be able to take advantage of new hardware and software provided through the Bill Gates Foundation grant that was awarded to the Mark Twain Branch.
Adult literary programs, such as book discussions and readings, will be increased. And other programs geared to adult interests, for example, a travel series, will be implemented.
Children’s Department initiatives are numerous; cooperative parenting programs, story times, educational, cultural, and recreational programming, school visits, participation in Parent Teacher Organizations, joint programming with school-based family literacy centers, partnering with community-based organizations, and Family Place are some examples. One unique service that will be provided by the Mark Twain Branch is the opportunity to access the new Phonics Awareness Learning Center. This will allow youth, and even new speakers of English, to utilize an audiocassette system to hear and learn words to help foster better reading and pronunciation.
As always the Mark Twain Branch will strive to market its offerings, educate about its benefits, and provide an open ear for hearing and responding to the needs of its neighbors.
The branch will build up its existing partnerships and create new ones. The branch will continue to forge strong relationships with community groups. And in so doing will be in a better position to improve the quality of life of its neighbors.
The branch will provide access to a hospitable, safe, clean, and adequate facility with the support of the Central library staff, the City, and the Asylum Hill and West End communities.
Also the Mark Twain Branch will continue to offer excellent customer service.
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